Sheet manufacturing apparatus and sheet manufacturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9771685-B2
Application number	US-201615071356-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 16, 2016
Priority date	Mar 18, 2015
Publication date	Sep 26, 2017
Grant date	Sep 26, 2017

Abstract

A sheet manufacturing apparatus includes a defibrating unit configures to defibrate a raw material containing fiber into a defibrated material; a screening unit configured to screen the defibrated material that is defibrated by the defibrating unit; a web forming unit configured to form a web on which the defibrated material screened by the screening unit is deposited; a rotary body that includes a protrusion unit for forming a subdivided body by dividing the web formed by the web forming unit; a deposition unit configures to deposit the defibrated material configuring the subdivided body; and a forming unit configured to form the sheet by pressurizing and heating the defibrated material deposited by the deposition unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a defibrating unit configured to defibrate a raw material containing fiber into a defibrated material;
a screening unit configured to screen the defibrated material that is defibrated by the defibrating unit;
a web forming unit configured to form a web on which the defibrated material screened by the screening unit is deposited;
a dividing unit configured to divide the web formed by the web forming unit to form a subdivided body;
a deposition unit configured to deposit the defibrated material configuring the subdivided body; and
a forming unit configured to form the sheet by pressurizing and heating the defibrated material deposited by the deposition unit.

2. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the web forming unit comprises:
a deposition surface on which the web is deposited; and
a peeling unit configured to peel the web deposited on the deposition surface from the deposition surface.

3. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 ,
wherein the dividing unit includes a rotary body that includes a protrusion unit for forming the subdivided body by coming into contact with the web and then dividing itself.

4. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3 ,
wherein the web forming unit comprises a belt including the deposition surface and, at least two rollers by which the belt is stretched,
wherein the peeling unit comprises a stationary plate, and
wherein the stationary plate faces a roller among the rollers, which is positioned on the rotary body side, and comes into contact with the belt.

5. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3 ,
wherein the peeling unit comprises an airflow generation unit configured to generate airflow in a direction in which the web is separated from the belt in the vicinity of the rotary body.

6. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3 ,
wherein the web forming unit comprises a belt including the deposition surface, and
wherein the sheet manufacturing apparatus further comprises a control unit configured to control a rotational speed of the rotary body in compliance with a moving speed of the mesh belt.

7. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising:
a detection unit configured to detect a thickness of the web,
wherein the control unit configured to control the moving speed of the belt based on the thickness of the web detected by the detection unit.

8. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising:
a detection unit configured to detect a thickness of the web; and
a control unit configured to control a rotational speed of the rotary body based on a thickness of the web detected by the detection unit.

9. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 ,
wherein the peeling unit comprises an airflow generation unit, and peels the web from the deposition surface by an airflow generated by the airflow generation unit.

10. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 9 ,
wherein the airflow generation unit configured to apply an airflow to the deposition surface at an acute angle.

11. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 9 ,
wherein the web peeled from the deposition surface by the airflow generated by the airflow generation unit is divided in a direction approximately parallel to the transporting direction of the web.

12. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 10 ,
wherein the moisture content of the airflow applied to the deposition surface is adjusted.

13. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 9
wherein the dividing unit includes a suction unit for forming the subdivided body by suctioning the web and then dividing itself.

14. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 13 ,
wherein the web forming unit comprises a belt including the deposition surface, a supporting unit which supports the belt, and a rotary roller which faces the supporting unit across the belt,
wherein the web decomposed in the deposition surface is nipped by the supporting unit and the rotary roller,
wherein the peeling unit peels the web from the deposition surface by applying the airflow generated by the airflow generation unit to the deposition surface, on a downstream side of the web further in a transporting direction than the supporting unit, and
wherein the dividing unit suctions the web peeled by the peeling unit, by the suction unit.

15. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 13 ,
wherein an air volume caused by the suction unit is greater than an air volume caused by the airflow generation unit.

16. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a supply unit configured to supply an additive agent to the subdivided body.

17. The sheet manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 ,
wherein the web forming unit comprises
a mesh belt on which the web is deposited; and
a suction unit configured to suction the defibrated material screened by the screening unit from a surface opposite to a surface of the mesh belt on which the web is deposited.

18. A sheet manufacturing method comprising:
defibrating a raw material containing fiber into a defibrated material;
screening the defibrated material that is defibrated;
forming a web on which a screened defibrated material is deposited;
forming a subdivided body by dividing the web;
depositing the defibrated material configuring the subdivided body; and
forming a sheet by pressurizing and heating a deposited defibrated material.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Omagari Naoko
• Higuchi Naotaka
• Nakamura Masahide
• Otagiri Minoru

Classifications

• D21G9/0027

  controlling the forming section · CPC title

• D21F9/00 Primary

  Complete machines for making continuous webs of paper · CPC title

• D21C5/025

  De-inking · CPC title

• D21B1/08 Primary

  the raw material being waste paper (chemical part D21C5/02); the raw material being rags · CPC title

• D21G7/00

  Damping devices · CPC title